Burmese Boxing: a History
Burmese boxing or lethwei is an ancient martial art that originated, as you might guess, in Burma, a state in Southeast Asia located in the western part of the Indochina peninsula, which was renamed Myanmar in 1989.
The progenitor of Burmese boxing was the hand-to-hand combat of Burmese warriors (Bando), it is related to the Thai martial art Muay Boran, from which, in turn, Thai boxing subsequently originated. In addition, the styles that are close in spirit and execution are the Cambodian sold Sergei (Kun Khmer) and the Malaysian tomoy.
At the same time, if Muay Thai is known as the "art of eight limbs," then Burmese boxing is the "art of nine limbs," since in addition to fists, elbows, knees, and shins, headbutts are also allowed here.